PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A Parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara earlier this year, has urged miner Rio Tinto to commit to a moratorium on mining in the area.

The caves were irreparably damaged during blasting operations that Rio conducted as part of its Brockman 4 operations.

The interim report of the inquiry has also urged Rio to undertake rehabilitation of the Juukan Gorge site, review all of its agreements with Traditional Owners, stay all actions under the Aboriginal Heritage Act, placing a voluntary moratorium on all applications under this Act, and return all artifacts to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) peoples, which were recovered at the site in 2014 as part of heritage preservation and salvage work.

Other sections of the mining industry are urged to make similar commitments, while the Western Australian government is urged to pursue urgent reform of current State laws. The committee also recommends on urgent review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Heritage Protection Act, and changes to its application and administration in the meantime.

Inquiry chair Warren Entsch said during the tabling of the interim report that the inquiry had highlighted the disparity in power between Indigenous peoples and industry in the protection of Indigenous heritage, and the serious failings of legislation designed to protect Indigenous heritage and promote Native Title.

“The PKKP faced a perfect storm, with no support or protection from anywhere,” Entsch said.

“They were let down by Rio Tinto, the Western Australian government, the Australian government, their own lawyers, and Native Title law.

“In making these recommendations today, the committee and I want to break that cycle. The neglect of the PKKP people stops here.”

Entsch has emphasised that the report was an interim report, and that the inquiry would continue.

“The scale of the inquiry, the sheer volume of evidence that the committee has received, and continues to receive, and the serious constraints posed by Covid-19, means that the committee felt unable to do full justice to the inquiry in so short a time," he said.

“As a result, the committee has chosen to table this interim report addressing its findings to date and setting forth recommendations which will be built upon next year.”

Rio Tinto’s previously completed internal review into the incident concluded that while the company had obtained legal authority to impact the rockshelters, it fell short of the standards and internal guidelines that Rio set for itself, over and above its legal obligations.

In October, the company committed to a review of all heritage disturbance, in consultation with Traditional Owners, and highlighted its intent to modernise its agreements with Traditional owners. The miner promised to reassess all activities that had the potential to impact heritage sites, with an immediate focus on those that could be impacted over the next 18 to 24 months.

Rio also committed to introducing mechanisms into its agreements to respond better to new information that could emerge about cultural heritage sites, including those affected by Aboriginal Heritage Act approvals, and to improve transparency of any revised agreement, along with more impactful realization of economic and social benefits.

The miner stripped CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques, iron-ore CEO Chris Salisbury, and group executive of corporate relations Simone Niven of performance related bonuses for 2020.

Jacques, Salisbury and Niven have all handed in their respective resignations following the destruction of the rockshelters.